Peanut butters and peanut spreads are ordinarily composed of peanut paste (that is, size-reduced roasted peanuts), stabilizer, and optionally of emulsifier, sweetener, salt and other ingredients. A number of different types of peanut pastes, each with distinct advantages and disadvantages, have been used in the past to prepare peanut butters and peanut spreads.
For example, analysis of current (full fat) peanut butter products shows the particle size distribution of the solids contained therein to be primarily two different ranges. One distribution curve is composed of particles in the range of from about 18 microns to about 118 microns, with the central portion of the distribution being between about 24 and 118 microns in size. The second particle size distribution range is primarily between about 3 microns and about 14 microns with the major distribution being between 5 and 11 microns. This distribution is bimodal, i.e., two distribution curves which overlap. Reduced fat peanut spreads made from peanut paste wherein the solids have a bimodal particle spread have also been disclosed. See, for example, Walling et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,919: Issued Jul. 27, 1993.
Nut butters and spreads, particularly reduced fat nut spreads, are typically prepared by adding solid diluents to the peanut paste. It is desirable that the solid diluents be water soluble for two reasons. First, water soluble solids have less of an impact on the fluidity of the paste than water insoluble solids. Second, water soluble solids facilitate mastication and decrease the total amount of solids perceived in the mouth. Unfortunately, the addition of the water soluble solids to peanut pastes with bimodal particle size distribution results in several product negatives. In particular, the product becomes very viscous (hard to spread), gritty (coarse particles of the added solids) and flavor is lost as a result of the need to intensely mix the solids with the paste. Furthermore, the viscosity/fluidity of peanut pastes having a bimodal particle size distribution are highly sensitive to fat content: i.e., the viscosity increases significantly as the fat content is lowered, so it is especially difficult to prepare a fluid, reduced fat nut spread from a bimodal peanut paste.
It has been found that the fluidity of reduced calorie nut butters and spreads can be increased by roll milling the solids comprising the nut paste to a monomodal particle size distribution. See Wong et al.: U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,027: Issued Jan. 7, 1992. Wong et al disclose low fat nut butters wherein the solid ingredients have a monomodal particles size distribution which are prepared by roll milling defatted peanut solids. The nut paste disclosed by Wong et al. have a particle size in which the major distribution (80% or more) of solid particles have a particle size of 18 microns or less, and preferably wherein 90% of the solid particles are less than 13 microns.
Unfortunately, as a result of the use of defatted peanuts and as a result of the intense processing conditions to which the nut paste is subjected, the nut spreads of the type described by Wong often have inferior flavor compared to full fat nut butters. Moreover, the milling process can result in a nut butter product which has too fine particles. The effect of producing too many fine particles is that the product spreadability is less than desirable.
It has now been found that lull fat nut butters and reduced fat nut spreads having superior fluidity, texture and flavor can be prepared by utilizing the particular monomodal nut paste of the present invention.